This invention relates to a drilling apparatus for drilling bores in mine workings or roadways.
In underground mines, it is known to secure mine installations (such as the roof support units of a roof support assembly) by means of roof anchors. Similarly, gap sealing strips (which are used to seal the gaps between the roof bars of adjacent roof support units) can be secured by means of roof anchors. In each case, the roof anchors are firmly secured in bores drilled in the roof of the working or roadway supported by the roof support assembly. It is also known to drill bores in the mineral face of a mine working, the bores being used to house explosive for use in winning mineral material by explosive blasting. Typically, explosive blasting is used to win mineral material from the upper region of a mineral face (or seam); the lower region being won by a mechanical winning machine (such as a plough or a shearer), which is driven to and fro along the face side of a conveyor positioned in front of the face, and within the protection of the roof support assembly. For this purpose, bores are drilled through apertures in the roof bars of the roof support units. (See DE-OS No. 2 705 460 published Aug. 17, 1978).
In order to drill such bores, it is essential to use a drilling machine that can be supported, and made fast, in any desired drilling position. One known way of doing this is to fix the drilling machine to, for example, a roadway driving machine (See DE-AS No. 2 208 710 published Sept. 13, 1973). Obviously, this fixing method is no use for drilling bores along a line of roof support units positioned in a longwall working or a roadway.
It is also known to arrange a drilling machine on the roof support assembly itself (See DE-OS No. 1 955 355 published Nov. 19, 1970). In this case, vertically-movable carrier arms are guided on a pair of props of the assembly. The props are interconnected by a transverse roof bar, and the arms are interconnected by a transverse guide rail. A drilling machine is supported and guided on the transverse guide rail. This type of drilling apparatus has a number of disadvantages. In particular, the guide rail extends over the entire width of the roadway (or working), and lies a substantial distance below the roof bars of the roof support assembly. Thus, the access area defined by the assembly is considerably restricted. Moreover, owing to the rigid guidance of the drilling machine on the guide rail, adjustment of the drilling angle is impossible. Furthermore, the advance mechanism, which is required to force the drill bit forward as drilling proceeds, is constituted by means for lifting the entire guide rail together with its carrier arms. This lifting means comprises separate lifting devices for each of the carrier arms. Consequently, it is not possible to drill bores in the side walls of a roadway, or in the face of a longwall working.
The object of the invention is to produce a drilling apparatus which can be used with an advanceable mine roof support assembly, which can drill bores in both roof and side walls, which can drill bores at different angles, and which is of relatively simple and space-saving construction.